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0. Table of Contents

1. Introduction 3About the game 3The World of InSpectres 4Creating your Agent 5Character Guidelines 5Agent Skills 5Point Distribution 6Talents 6Character Improvement 7Agent Creation Quick-Start 7

2. Creating the Franchise 8

Franchise Cards 8Franchise Dice 9The Bank 9Job Descriptions 9Franchise Creation Summary 10

3. Game Mechanics 11Skill Roll Chart 11Sample Skill Rolls 12Earning Franchise Dice 12Requirements 13“Taking 4” 14Augmenting Skill Rolls 14Rolling Bank Dice 14Bank Roll Chart 14Teamwork 15

4. Dealing with Stress 16Stress Roll Chart 16Stress Penalties 16Sample Stress Rolls 17 Cool Dice 18

5. Weird Agents 19The Good News 19The Bad News 19Me, Being a Big Geek 19Turning Weird 20Sample Weird Agents 20

7. Play Structure 23Starting Interviews 23Confessionals 23Guidelines for Confessionals 24“The Chair” 25Private Lives 25Creating Non-player Characters 25Jobs 26Getting the Call 26Client Roll Chart 27Suiting Up 28Fieldwork 28Clean Up 28Bankruptcy & Debt 29Death & Dismemberment 29Vacation 30Character Continuity 30InSpectres: the Series 31

8. Final Words 32Running the Game 32Have Fun 32Credits & Kudos 33Playtesters & Advisors 33Upcoming Mini-Supplements 33Copyright Info 33Website 33

i. Glossary of Terms 34Skills 34Die Pools 35Game Mechanics 36Play Structure 38

ii. Reference Charts 39Skill Roll Chart 39Stress Roll Chart 39Bank Roll Chart 39Client Roll Chart 39

InSpectres version 2.04 – 08/04/02

Note: Official character sheets are available online at www.memento-mori.com.

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1. IntroductionInSpectres is a paranormal investigation and elimination service based in the BayArea of California, dedicated to safeguarding the human race from extra-dimensionalhazards and supernatural manifestations. Our skilled agents are handpicked for theirphysical prowess, academic achievement and technical aptitude. They are the elite –the best of the best.

So if it’s ghosts or goblins, spooks, bogies or bumps in the night, you can rest easyknowing that our trained staff is on the case.

InSpectres: Because it’s not just a vampiric infestation, it’s your vampiric infestation!

About the GameInSpectres is a fast, simple and fun game that mixes horror and comedy in a worldof start-up culture and supernatural fright-fests. The setting is loosely defined,allowing you the freedom to fill in the blanks however you see fit. The mechanics aredesigned with player control in mind, as well as a few bells and whistles to turn thewhole player-GM relationship on its head. Early incarnations have been receivedquite well, garnering a positive review on The Forge (an indie-gaming website) andinspiring several different interpretations of the rules. These “interpretations” (I call‘em mini-supplements) have taken the basic game into many different directions,from investigative news teams to haunted hospitals, elite-military units to turn of thecentury explorer’s clubs.

InSpectres is loosely based on the films Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II (which,frankly, wasn’t great) and “reality TV shows” like COPS and the Real World. Heavydoses of inspiration also come from my personal experiences as a software developerand employee of two Internet companies.

Design NotesUnlike a lot of games out there, InSpectres didn’t start as an idea for a cool settingor anything like that. What I wanted to do was try designing a game that “fixed”some problems I saw in similar games that dealt with investigation (no names,please). That problem is what I call the “murder mystery” plot. Basically, it goes likethis: the players stumble across a mystery of some sort. The GM then provides clues(in the form of helpful or not-so-helpful NPCs, scraps of forensic information or first-hand knowledge of the event). If the players are smart, they’ll figure it out. If not,then the GM has to guide them along until they do figure it out. In effect, it becomesan exercise for the GM in which the players are guided down a pre-built track andreact to stuff that pops up along the way (not unlike a funhouse ride). In the end,the game succeeds or fails on the merits of the GM running that game.

What this game does is to allow the GM to set up the events, but then have theplayers (through their characters) decide what is really going on. The GM then reactsto the players and what they see as intriguing or exciting elements of the story. The other thing I wanted to do was to set up a play structure (the series of eventsthat occurs in each game session). Using this play structure as a guide, the GM andplayers know what is expected of them at various stages of the game. The fun, ofcourse, comes from doing stuff in each stage.

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The World of InSpectresInSpectres takes place in a modern, metropolitan setting where ghosts, demons andthings that go bump in the night are real, documented and seen as sources ofannoyance and embarrassment (rather than just the usual standards of fear,confusion and revulsion).

In order to deal with the rising occurrences of supernatural infestations, a smallstart-up called InSpectres, Inc. was founded by a team of para-psychologists, ghosthunters and tech-heads looking for a way to make money without doing the normal9-5 grind. Their service is designed to enable clients to confidentially contact theInSpectres and have their supernatural infestations investigated and (hopefully)eliminated.

Of course, you can set your game anywhere you want…rural towns and foreigncountries have their share of weird problems, maybe even more than the Big Cityand its suburbs. The InSpectres franchise creation rules enable you to run anythingfrom a low-rent start-up to an established business (or even the Main Office itself!).Do you want to delve into a world of second-hand furniture, irate creditors andcarryout? Or would you rather explore a bustling enterprise and all the bureaucracyand red tape that comes with it?

Ultimately, the “World of InSpectres” is just a big sandbox in which to play. Thereare no hard, fast rules or cordoned-off areas marked “DO NOT CHANGE!” The heartand soul of the game is its premise and play structure…everything else is just anexcuse to make a mess and have fun.

There’s lots of room in this game for your own ideas. As I said earlier, some peoplehave gone hog-wild with their own custom-built settings. So can you! Just take intoaccount how the game works and start from there. The game is not just aboutcolorful characters that investigate supernatural threats. It’s also about players thatget to decide the How and What and Why of the game, rather than just relying onthe skill and imagination of one person: the Game Master.

This is collaborative storytelling without a net.

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2. Creating your AgentWhat kind of person quits their day-job in order to take up the rather odd career ofprofessional ghost hunting? Well, all kinds of people, really…and that’s where youcome in. InSpectres agents come from all backgrounds, all walks of life. Amateurpara-psychologists, occult scholars, ex-military or law enforcement, tech-heads, usedcar salesmen, pro football players and ex-strippers have all found their place in theInSpectres family.

But no matter what their background, you should come up with a reasonableexplanation why your characters would want to undertake such a radical careerchange.

Like the sign says, “You don’t have to be crazy to work here…but it helps.”

Character GuidelinesFirst, come up with a name and a basic personality for your character. It helps toalso come up with his or her former occupation (even if said occupation is “couchpotato”). As far as quirkiness and mental instability, well, weirdoes are fine. Justremember a few guidelines:

If your character is so “out there” that he or she wouldn’t get hired in the first place,then you should probably tone it down a bit or come up with a new concept.InSpectres is a business, first and foremost, and that twitchy gun nut with thetattoos might not be conducive to a stable work environment. Of course, the smallerthe franchise, the more leeway they’re willing to give to possible new hires.

If your character is a loner, argumentative or completely unreliable, he won’t lastlong in the close-knit team structure of the franchise. You don’t have to get alongwith everyone, but you can’t be a dickhead and expect to be hired or stay employed.

Lastly, your character needs to have some special skills or field of expertise that theInSpectres would find attractive. This doesn’t mean that you have to be some whiz-kid scientist or occult librarian to get the job. It just means that your charactershould have something that he’s really good at – this could be anything fromresearch to physical prowess to a pleasant speaking voice. Which brings us to skills…

Agent SkillsOkay, so you have your basic character concept in mind. Now you need to assignskill points to that character to flesh him or her out in terms of the game mechanics.

There are four skills in this game, each covering a field of expertise:

Academics

Academics is the skill you’ll use when researching information (either online or inprinted texts), coming up with theories, remembering facts and figures and bothidentifying and solving problems. Characters with a high Academics score arewalking databases of useful information. Characters with low Academics are walkingindex cards of useful information. Single index cards, I might add.

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Athletics

If the Academics skill represents your character’s brains, then brawn is measured bythe Athletics skill. Anything physical (running, swimming, hiding, climbing andyes…fighting) is covered by Athletics. Firing weapons, such as crossbows or pistols,is also covered by this skill. Characters with a high Athletics score are excellentphysical specimens, superior marksmen and able fighters. Characters with lowAthletics are out-of-shape, scrawny, overweight or sickly.

Technology

The exception to this rule is when the firearm is some whacked-out scientific device.In this case, you’ll use the third skill: Technology, used to operate, repair or buildequipment. Technology is also used whenever you want to buy (or have access) toequipment – anything from a computer to a shark cage. Characters with a highTechnology score are elite hackers, expert inventors and hi-tech pack rats.Characters with low Technology scores have trouble setting the clock on their VCR.

Contact

The fourth and last skill is called Contact. Contact is your character’s ability to talk topeople…normal people. Potential clients, anxious investors, bored housewives,litigious lawyers, nosy reporters, irate police officers, annoying kids, and obsequiouspoliticians. It also represents your character’s list of contacts – people that thecharacter can call for advice, assistance and support. If your character is a people-person or has an active social life then he or she would probably have a high Contactscore. Someone with a low Contact score…well, they hunt ghosts, demons andvampires for a living…

Point DistributionYou have nine skill dice to distribute to your character’s skills. Obviously, the moredice in a skill, the better your character is in that area (we’ll delve into theparticulars in a bit). No one skill can be higher than four or lower than one.

TalentsYour agent will also possess a unique Talent (either something at which they’renaturally gifted or a skill they picked up from before they joined the InSpectres).Choose an area where your character will gain a bonus die. Whenever this areacomes into play, you’ll roll an extra die. Some sample Talents are:

• Computers• Car Mechanic• Football Player• Star Trek Geek

• Don Juan• Ninja Training• Librarian• Botany

When using a Talent, strive to be creative! And remember that your character isallowed to use their Talent in any of the four skill areas. So if your ex-mechanic getsinto a scrap, boost your Athletics roll by using a monkey wrench as a weapon. If youragent is sexy as all-get-out, maybe you can get the team a good deal on a used car(a bonus to the Technology roll). Get the picture?

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Character ImprovementShort answer: There is no character improvement. Well, not in the usual sense.

Longer answer: Although your agent’s basic skill ratings won’t change over time,Confessionals and in-game events will help develop your character as the gameprogresses. Stress penalties will introduce battle scars, phobias and weaknesses(which may or may not be cured!). Successful jobs will allow for more franchise dice,which equals better research, training and equipment. The other characters willprovide for interesting relationships and rivalries. And of course, your ownexperiences during the game (and maybe even in Real Life) will give you newperspectives on your own style of play, its strengths and weaknesses.

Character Improvement? No. Character development, you bet.

Cool DiceOkay, I lied in that last paragraph. Characters in InSpectres can improve, but not inthe usual way. Instead of gaining experience points or whatever, agents may gainCool dice during the course of a mission. An agent’s initial Cool starts at zero but thiswill change once the game begins. You can read all about Cool dice later on (or youcan just skip ahead to Chapter 5, page 18).

Playing Supernatural CharactersIf you’d like to create a “weird” agent (one with supernatural abilities), then jumpright to Chapter 6 on page 19. Be forewarned that there are several restrictions…thebiggest being that only one player may play a weird agent per game.

EXAMPLE: Agent CreationThe first step is to come up with a name and basic personality. I name my agentMitch Dawson and decide that he’s a drama student working his way through college.Mitch is smart-alecky and romantic, with wild ideas about what really goes on withinthe InSpectres organization. Boy, is he in for a shock. My concept for the character isto play him as impatient, a bit clueless and kinda full of himself.

The second step is to distribute nine skill dice among the four skills. I decide thatMitch’s strongest area will be Contact, so three dice go there. That leaves six dice tospend, so I place two dice into each of the three remaining skills.

Finally, Mitch needs a Talent. Actor seems appropriate but not very interesting.Theatrical Combat has more style but it’s a little too limited. Then it hits me: TheatreMajor. Mitch brings his knowledge of the dramatic arts to the company. He can quoteShakespeare, swing a prop sword, emote on cue and handle a lighting rig. Cool!

Agent Creation Summary• Come up with a name• Pick a former career or background• Place nine dice in your skills (Academics, Athletics, Technology and Contact)• No skill may have more than 4 dice or less than 1 die• Choose a Talent that’s appropriate for your agent’s background

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3. Creating the FranchiseBy now you’re probably itching to get started. You’ve got a bunch of friends togetherto play (one GM and between three and five agents is the ideal amount), you’veordered the pizza and the GM is already plotting to make your lives interesting. Butfirst, you have to build your franchise.

The franchise is kind of like an additional character, except that everyone workstogether to create it. Time to put your heads together and answer the followingquestions:

• How big is your franchise? How long have you been in operation? • Are you the Main Office? An established franchise? A start-up operation?• Where is your franchise located? How many people work there? • Who runs the show? A board of directors or the agents themselves?• Do investors privately fund it or did you all max out your credit cards?• What does your franchise look like? What amenities does it feature?• Are you the only InSpectres franchise in the area? Are there any competitors?• What kinds of gear do you have access to? What do you use for transportation? • Do you have a specialty (ghosts, vampires, demons, crypto-zoology)?

During this stage, you should work out the basic details of your franchise. Don’tworry about nailing down every single detail. Let it come out during the game. Also,whenever you mention a detail like equipment or staff or a posh office, the GMshould have you roll your Technology dice. Specifically, the person to mention thedetail should make the roll. Depending on the success of the roll, you’ll be able toelaborate on the detail.

Franchise CardsFranchise cards enable you to add dice to your skill rolls, thus increasing your chanceof success. There are three types of Cards, with each Card able to augment a certainkind of skill roll. They are:

Library Card

The Library Card allows you to use the InSpectres’ vast library in order to aid in yourresearch. Libraries can take many forms, from a huge database of information tosnippets of folklore bound into a three-ring binder. “Ye Olde Collection of DustyBooks” is also a popular option with bespectacled bibliophiles. You’ll use your LibraryCard to augment an Academics roll.

Gym Card

The Gym Card gives you access not only to the latest in exercise equipment, it alsoallows you free access to firing ranges, martial arts dojos and really nice swimmingpools. Not surprisingly, use of the Gym Card helps you on Athletics rolls.

Credit Card

Lastly, but definitely not least, is the corporate Credit Card. Access to the corporateCredit Card allows you and your fellow agents to buy cutting-edge technology andalso to cover fees for technical training. Should I bother to mention that Credit Cardsadd dice to Technology skill rolls?

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Franchise DiceUnlike skill dice, the number of franchise dice you receive depends on the size ofyour franchise. For a brand spankin’ new franchise you get five dice to distributeamong the three Cards. Established businesses can expect up to ten dice. Large,successful franchises get up to twenty. Working for the Main Office? How’s thirty dicesound? Any more than that and you’re just getting silly.

Also unlike skills, there is no maximum or minimum. A young franchise can put allfive dice onto their Credit Card…but it’s usually a good idea to split the dice upaccording to the strengths and weaknesses of your agents. Remember that Card diceare non-transferable – once you place them, you can’t switch them around on awhim.

It’s important to note that the more dice you start out with, the more dangerousyour missions (and the more lucrative). A big franchise means big bucks, but alsolots of danger and stress. I recommend that you start small and work your way upthe corporate ladder.

One more thing: if you decide not to distribute all of your dice, the leftover dice areplaced in the Bank.

The BankThe Bank is a repository for leftover franchise dice (in other words, dice that aren’tplace on a particular Card). The good thing about the Bank is that these Bank dicecan be used to increase any skill roll. They can also be used to alleviate the effects ofStress on your agents (more on Stress later). The downside is that there is noguarantee that Bank dice will be there when you need them. In order to keep trackof what rolls what, your Bank dice should either be a different color than your normaldice or rolled separately from your other dice when making skill rolls.

Job DescriptionsAlthough not integral to the success of the game, a fun bit of color is to assign eachplayer a job title and some related duties. Three suggestions (as well as their duties)are described as follows:

Chief Executive Officer

Choose one player to be the CEO, the de-facto leader of the team. It’s up to him (orher, this is the 21st century after all) to make the important decisions. Whether ornot these decisions are actually followed is up for debate…

Chief Technical Officer

The CTO is the player blessed with keeping track of all the goodies purchased withTechnology Skill Rolls. Your CTO is usually the biggest geek in the group (strangelyenough, this player often has the agent with the highest Technology Skill).

Chief Financial Officer

You should choose one player to be the CFO, the person in charge of the FranchiseSheet and the one who keeps tally of the team’s Franchise dice (earned andinvested).

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If you want more official titles, go for it. After all, “Chief of Security” and “Chief ofOperations” are both pretty cool-sounding positions (even if they’re just corporatespeak for “security guard” and “handyman.”

You can also just split the duties and not officially declare a CEO, CTO or CFO.Whatever you want to do is just fine…just don’t ask the GM to handle your team’saffairs. That’s just asking for trouble.

EXAMPLE: Franchise CreationNow it’s time to build the company. Mitch is inexperienced, so the InSpectres teamprobably won’t be a cadre of elite ghost-hunters. I figure that the franchise has beenopen for a little while and its agents are looking for additional help (seven franchisedice seems like a good start). The other players in this fictional scenario agree to thisand we start divvying up our franchise dice.

One player’s character is a former college professor (in a blazing display of creativity,this character is dubbed “The Professor” and is declared the group’s CEO). Hesuggests that since his character and Mitch are both involved in campus life, thefranchise should be involved with the college as well. Again, everyone agrees and theschool’s Police & Safety Department officially opens its Paranormal Student Affairsdivision (hey, this smells like a mini-supplement in the making!). The Professorsuggests that the school’s library be of the utmost importance. Everyone agrees andfour franchise dice are placed onto the team’s Library Card. The Gym Card, CreditCard and Bank all receive one die each.

Most of the particulars of Paranormal Student Affairs will be worked out during thegame. The players do a couple preliminary Skill Rolls to get the creative juicesflowing. It’s determined that the PSA offices are located in a small house on campusgrounds (Mitch and another character also sleep here to save money). Weapons arescarce and none of the characters are combat experts anyway…so their missions aregoing to be more investigation, less confrontation. The team rolls poorly on theirTechnology roll when figuring out their transportation. The Professor has an Audi butwon’t use it for PSA-related duties. That leaves an electric-powered golf cart on loanfrom Police & Safety. Mitch uses his high Contact skill to chat up a cute art studentwho agrees to give the golf cart some badly needed flair. Then the game begins…

Franchise Creation Summary• Come up with a basic “one sentence” description of the team’s franchise• Determine the number of franchise dice you’ll start with (five to ten is good)• Distribute those franchise dice among the three Cards (Library, Gym and Credit)• Place any leftover franchise dice in the Bank• Decide on the details and peculiarities of the franchise• Assign job titles to the players (or let them fight over titles, which is also fun)

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4. Game MechanicsThe InSpectres system is both incredibly easy to learn and incredibly challenging touse. The basic gist of the system is this: roll your skill dice when you want to use askill, compare the result to a chart, and carry out the instructions on the chart.

To do this, roll a number of six-sided dice equal to the number listed beside the skillyou’re going to use. So if you need to make an Academics roll and you have anAcademics of 3, you’d roll three dice. That’s all there is to it.

After you make this roll; you’re going to have a handful of dice with numbers rangingfrom 1 to 6. Find the highest number shown and compare it to the Skill Roll Chart.

Skill Roll Chart6: Amazing! Describe the result and gain 2 franchise dice.5: Good. Describe the result and gain a franchise die.4: Fair. Describe the mostly positive result of your action but you must also include anegative or humorous effect.3: Not Great. The GM decides your fate but you may be given a chance to suggest asingle positive (albeit minor) effect.2: Bad. The GM decides your fate or you may suggest something suitably negative.1: Terrible! The GM gets to hose you with a truly dire situation resulting from yourincompetence.

This might seem a bit strange if you’re an experienced role-playing gamer. Yes, youread it right. You get to call the shots if you’re successful. The idea is not that a highroll results in a successful use of the skill. A high roll simply means that you, as aplayer, can take over the game for a bit and describe the situation however you like.It stands to reason that with this amount of power, you’ll use it to your advantage,right? Or maybe not! Nothing is more fun than hosing your own character…

And even if you don’t roll well, it doesn’t mean that you failed! It just means that youhave to put your character in a tough or tense or comical situation. Your characterdoesn’t miss the vampire with the stake, you hit it in the stomach instead…or it’s notthe kind of vampire that is killed when it’s staked…or anything else you can think of.It’s okay to “lose,” because the game is not about “winning” (besides, a failed roll isjust a temporary setback and not a carved-in-stone result of, “OH MY GOD, WE’RETOTALLY SCREWED NOW!”).

Heck, think of it this way: You just made your character’s life (and the game) thatmuch more interesting.

And lest we dwell on the negative, let’s not forget the positive side of the equation.Rolled a 6? Well then, now’s your chance to describe exactly what happened…don’tskimp on all the gory details and cool action! This is your moment in the sun, baby.

The key with Skill Rolls is to figure out what your character’s goal is when you makea skill roll. What would you roll when mixing a cocktail? Well, what’s your goal? Areyou whipping up a martini to impress a date? Then roll your Contact. When we say“cocktail,” are we speaking of the “Molotov” variety? Then roll your Technology (andstay away from open flames).

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Sample Skill RollsAlthough there are only four skills, each is fairly broad and covers a wide field ofaptitudes. Here are some suggestions for each field:

Roll Academics to…

• Cast a deadly spell • Find a telephone number online• Research ancient Mayan burial rites• Lecture on molds, spores and fungi • Speak a foreign language

Roll Athletics to…

• Arm-wrestle a Yeti• Hide in the graveyard• Shoot a crossbow• Scale a trellis outside a haunted house • Smack someone up-side the head

Roll Technology to…

• Upgrade your computer’s OS• Build a makeshift shelter in the woods• Pick a lock with a Swiss-army knife• Search the basement for a lost gadget• Use an experimental ghost zapper

Roll Contact to…

• Lie to someone• Get a sexy model’s telephone number• Con a police officer• Discuss your bill with an irate client• Ingratiate yourself with the zoning board

Here’s another trick: you can substitute another skill for your Contact skill whenyou’re trying to influence someone with a display of knowledge, technical aptitude orathletic merit. In the above “impress your date” example, you could mix-up a batchof Nepalese Celebration Grog (whatever that is) and use your Academics skillinstead. Be creative, be weird, be rewarded…that’s what this game is all about.

Earning Franchise DiceEach job requires the team to earn a certain number of franchise dice. As you cansee on the Skill Roll Chart, whenever the highest die is 5 or 6, your team will gaineither one or two franchise dice. The more dice your agents acquire, the closer theywill be to the end of their mission. These dice are then channeled back into the Cardsand Bank when the game session ends. This is explained more fully in the Jobssection.

EXAMPLE: Skill Roll

Let’s say that Mitch and his cohorts are investigating a disturbance in the old KappaDelta Pi house. This is weird, because the Kappas haven’t been active for decadesand their house is a decrepit eyesore slated for a date with a bulldozer. The GMdecides that this will be a standard investigation, worth fourteen franchise dice.

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If the team can pull this off without too many problems, they’ll be able to raise theirGym and Credit Cards…maybe even get a sweeter ride than that golf cart!

The GM has set up the job, but this doesn’t mean that he’s figured out what thedisturbance is, what’s causing it or how to deal with it. He might have an idea inmind, but this is at the mercy of the players and their ideas.

Being new at this kinda thing, the team decides to split up. Mitch (armed with aflashlight and a walkie-talkie) heads up to the second floor. The rotting stairs creakunder his weight and his flashlight can barely pierce the all-pervading gloom of thefrat house. Just then, the GM tells the player to roll Mitch’s Athletics as a beer bottlearcs through their air…Mitch’s player grabs his two measly Athletics Dice and getsready to roll them…

…But he decides to up his chances at gaining control (the player has just thought ofsomething cool that could happen). He spends the team’s sole Bank die (much to thedismay of the other players!) and rolls an extra die. The three dice clatter across thetable and read: 2, 4, and 5. Not bad, Mitch! The high roll of 5 gives Mitch’s playerthe opportunity to seize control of the story and a Franchise die. He narrates thebeer bottle narrowly missing Mitch’s head and crashing into a trophy case at the topof the stairs. Improvising wildly, the player describes that the contents of the caseare polished and gleaming. The plot thickens and the group gets one step closer totheir goal of fourteen franchise dice.

RequirementsSometimes, one of the players will want something way out of the ordinary whenmaking a skill roll (such as a “15 Gigawatt Insta-Deth Anti-Vampire Ray Gun”).Whenever a player makes a skill roll to acquire a piece of equipment (hi-tech,magical or mundane), the GM has the option to call for a specific number.

• A high result of 6 is necessary for anything truly “out there” like magicalgrimoires (roll for each spell you want to look up), laser rifles or ectoplasmicreticulators (whatever those are).

• Real-life but hard to get items require a high roll of at least 5. These wouldinclude ancient swords, rare books, flame-throwers, a 57 Chevy in mintcondition…you get the point.

• If you want something you could find in a store right now, then you just need ahigh roll of 4.

Of course, using the skill chart, you can shift the required number down one notchby adding a defect of some kind to the item in question. You want a pair of silver-plated pistols with silver nitrate bullets (minimum roll of 5) but you only roll a 4?Well, perhaps those guns will jam the first time you use them, or some othercalamity may result (like the silver nitrate is actually sodium nitrate). Caveat emptor.

EXAMPLE: RequirementsJo bought the walkie-talkies for the team and rolled a high 4…not good enough forthe mil-spec units she was hoping for (the GM gave those a requirement of 5). Butbecause she was just one point away from the requirement, the GM has given her aset of factory rejects. They work…but only most of the time.

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“Taking 4”“Taking 4” is a little trick I borrowed from another role-playing game. If yourcharacter has a rating of 4 in any skill, you can just take a result 4 (bypassing thedie roll).

Now you’re probably wondering, “Why the hell would I want to do that? Four dicepractically guarantees a better result than that!” You’d be right, if your character wasoperating at peak effectiveness. However, stressful events can lower your skills by asmuch as five dice (see Chapter 5 of page 16 for more about stress)! Unless yourrated-4 Skill has dropped to 0, you can automatically claim a result of 4. Sure, it’snot great success, but it sure beats rolling a 3 or less!

EXAMPLE: “Taking 4” Let’s say that Jo had a Technology skill of four. Later in the game, stress from themission has reduced that skill to a one (meaning there’s a straight 50/50 chance ofhaving things go her way). She may opt to “take a 4” instead of rolling whenever sheuses her Technology Skill, guaranteeing a result of 4. If her skill ever drops to zero,she will lose that ability until she can restore her skill to one or higher.

Augmenting Skill RollsWhenever you make a skill roll, you can choose to spend dice from a Card and addthose dice to the roll. Keep in mind that spent Card dice are always lost when usedand each Card die can only augment its corresponding skill.

• Library Card dice modify the Academics Skill• Gym Membership Card dice modify the Athletics Skill• Credit Card dice modify the Technology Skill• Bank dice or Cool dice can modify any Skill

A character’s Talent Die can also augment a Skill Roll, but only if it applies to theSkill Roll (Talent Dice are never used up…so a Talented agent will always have atleast one die to roll).

EXAMPLE: AugmentationBack when she was hunting for walkie-talkies, Jo could have spent dice from theteam’s Credit Card to add bonus dice to her Technology Roll. She could have alsoused Bank dice or Cool dice to boost her roll. If her Talent applied (like she hadMilitary Background as a Talent), she could add an additional die to the roll.

Rolling Bank diceWhen you roll your Bank dice, keep them separate from the rest of your roll (or usedifferent-colored dice). After you roll, check each Bank die’s number against thefollowing Bank dice chart.

Bank Roll Chart• 6: Compounded Interest! Return this die and add a bonus die to the Bank.• 5: Interest! Return this die to the Bank.• 4: Account Withdrawal! No Benefit or Penalty! Lose this die.• 3: Account Withdrawal! No Benefit or Penalty! Lose this die.• 2: Service Charge! Lose this die and an additional Bank die, if possible.• 1: Account Overrun! Ignore all other results and lose all dice in Bank.

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If you are spending Bank dice between missions (say, for Vacation or for restoring aweird agent’s Cool dice), roll the dice first, then consult the Chart, then carry on asnormal.

EXAMPLE: Bank Die Roll

Remember that lone Bank die that Mitch rolled? It turned out to be the 4, whichmeans that nothing special happened…the die is spent just like a normal Card die.

If the Bank die turned up as Mitch’s high roll of 5, it would mean that the die wasn’tactually spent – it would just return to the Bank.

If the Bank die turned out to be the 2 that Mitch rolled, he’d lose the die and suffer aone-die penalty to the team’s Bank account.

TeamworkYou can also improve your chances by acting as a team. The other players mayannounce assisting actions and roll their skill dice as normal. After this is done, theygive you any one of the dice that they rolled (even if their action was a failure) andyou get to use the value rolled on this die. Players do not have to use the same skillin order to help out; their actions can simply give their teammate an advantage.

If a teammate has announced the intent to help out, he or she must hand over a dieto the other player, even if the die is a less-than-desired result. For obvious reasons,characters with a skill of 1 can only hand over their single die if they choose to takean automatic failure on their own action.

EXAMPLE: TeamworkThe Professor is examining an occult tome, trying to remember his ancient Sumerianbefore some demons can knock down his hastily constructed barricade. Jo announcesthat she’s going to help him out by blasting a few of the hell-spawned creeps. Jo rollsher Athletics skill and gets a 1, 4, and 5. She takes the 5 as a success and blastsapart one of the demons. Although not a great roll, she gives the 4 to the Professor,hoping that his Academics skill roll works out. If the Prof rolls less than a 4, he canuse Jo’ loaned 4 to score a partial success.

Just then, Barry grabs his shotgun and hurries over to assist Jo and the Professor.Barry’s not that great a shot to begin with (he’s got an Athletics score of two) andhe’s a bit hurt from a previous encounter (giving him a one-die penalty to thisaction). Still, he gives it the old college try, rolls his one die…and scores a 3. Becausehe has to give up his only die to Jo, he automatically fails (duh, nice going, Bar’). Jorolls her eyes as Barry trips over his shoelaces and falls headfirst into the barricade.

Teamwork never hurts the person you’re trying to help. At minimum, you just won’tcontribute anything worthwhile and you could end up hosing yourself. But if thingsgo well, you can really pull another character out of the fire. One important note,though: only the person being helped (in the example, this would be the Professor)can win franchise dice for the team.

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5. Dealing with StressInSpectres get stressed. Their work is sometimes dirty or dangerous, the hours arelong and there’s always the possibility of a lawsuit from an unhappy client. And let’sface it, InSpectres agents aren’t always the most stable individuals…

Whenever your agent feels stress, you roll between one and five dice (depending onthe severity of the stress) and consult the imaginatively named Stress Roll Chart.

General life/work hassles rate about one die, two at the most. Mildly spooky commonsupernatural occurrences (your average haunting, vampire attack or werewolfsighting) deserve two or three dice, again depending on the severity of the event.Exposure to “Things Which Man Was Not Meant to Know” (tentacle things frombeyond, workplace decapitations, oozing zombie flesh) warrant between three or fourdice. The GM is free to add a stress die if your agent is especially tired, cranky, hurtor if they’ve already made a stress roll earlier that day. Demanding a stress roll ofmore than five dice is just plain mean.

After the Stress dice have been rolled, find the lowest result and look it up on theStress Roll Chart.

Stress Roll Chart• 6: Too Cool for School. You gain a point of Cool and suffer no real stress.• 5: Blasé. No effects…you just don’t care.• 4: Annoyed. Suffer a 1-die penalty to your next skill roll (no matter where or

when you perform it).• 3: Stressed. Lose a die from an appropriate skill.• 2: Frazzled. Lose two dice from an appropriate skill (or one die from two skills) • 1: Complete and total nuclear meltdown. Lose your Cool (if you have any) and

lose a number of skill dice equal to the number of stress dice rolled.

If your skill has been reduced down to zero, then you automatically fail any and alluses of that skill (treat this the same as rolling a 1 on the Skill Roll Chart). You can’teven use the “Take 4” rule…that’s how bad it is. And no, you can’t use the Teamworkrule to lend people high-scoring dice for their stress roll. Stress is something eachcharacter has to face alone. That’s part of the reason stress is so damn…stressful.

To restore your skills to their normal scores, you need to either take a Vacation atthe end of the mission or spend Cool dice anytime during the game.

As far as role-playing stress, well…by this time your skills aren’t quite as good asthey once were. So you’re rolling fewer dice. Which means you’ll have a greaterchance of rolling poorly. Which means you and the GM will have to describe yourcharacter’s inability to function at peak levels. In effect, the stress penalty reinforcesrole-playing a stressed character.

Stress PenaltiesRemember that blowing a stress roll doesn’t mean that you’re literally “stressed.” Itjust means that your skills have been compromised by some awful situation. Howdoes it work? Temporary insanity, injury, clumsiness, lack of concentration, fear,supernatural possession…use whatever you think fits the situation, your characterand the mood of the game.

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Suffer an Academics penalty?Okay…you got bonked on the head and it hurts too much to concentrate. Or you’retoo scared to think straight. Or you can’t remember whether Malaysian vampires aresensitive to sunlight or not.

Lost some Athletics dice?Maybe you’re out of breath. Or you tripped and sprained an ankle. Or you had aheart attack. Or the monster has wounded you.

Low on Technology? Maybe in the confusion you dropped something and it broke. Or you lost that keypart. Or you had your fingers crushed and typing out strings of LINUXcommands…problematic.

Having problems with Contact?This is easy to role-play…you’re scared speechless! Or you’ve gone a bit loco and arebusy chatting up a potted plant. Or even better…you’re covered in fluorescent pinkgoo and it’s making you angry for no good reason (hey, sounds familiar, doesn’t it?).

There is no health meter in this game, nor are mental and physical damageseparated out into two distinct areas. Use your imagination, have some fun with itand don’t be afraid of making your character’s life difficult. After all, in this game,time (and frozen margaritas) heals all wounds.

Sample Stress Rolls

The following are some example situations and the stress they could generate:

Your InSpectres agent… You need to roll…Gets cut off in traffic One dieGets cut off in traffic by an 18-wheeler Two diceIs harangued by the cops about a digging permit One dieIs arrested because you have no digging permit Two diceSees a pair of glowing eyes staring from the dark Two diceSees a pair of eyeballs lying on the floor Two diceSees a pair of eyeballs staring up at him from the floor Three diceIs confronted by a drooling demon-spawn from Hell Three diceSees his buddy get bitten in half by a drooling demon Three diceIs later attacked by the upper-half of his dead friend Four diceHas all of the above happen in the same day Five dice

EXAMPLE: Stress RollThe Professor is downstairs investigating the kitchen refrigerator. It’s full of coldbeers from the local brewery (which, incidentally, has been closed for the pasttwenty years). Curious, he reaches down to grab one when…POP! POP! POP! Thebottlecaps fly off and send great geysers of beer into the air. The GM calls for a one-die Stress roll as the Professor is covered in skunky beer. The professor’s player rollsone die and scores a 2. According to the Stress Chart, this means that the Professorwill lose either two Skill Dice from any skill or one Skill Die from any two differentskills. He decides that the stinky brew has reduced his Contact skill by one and thesudden explosion has rattled his nerves, causing his Academics to drop by one die aswell. This penalty will last until the professor has a chance to rest, clean up andcollect his senses (in other words, he can spend a Bank die or two at the end of themission to negate these penalties).

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Cool Dice“Being Cool” is more than just having a flair for fashion and excellent taste in food,wine and art. It’s also a measure of your character’s steely resolve, iron will andbrass cajones. In this game, it takes more than a pair of shades and a black leatherjacket to be cool (well, unless you’re the author of this game)

It also takes Cool dice.

How do you get Cool dice? Well, if you’re a weird agent you might start the gamebeing Cool. If not, then you might become Cool during the game if your lowestStress Roll die is a 6.

If your agent has a Cool die, you get to ignore the lowest stress die you roll (whichmeans that you can safely ignore all one-die stress rolls). If you have more than oneCool die, you get to ignore that many stress dice. Cool!

You can also elect to spend Cool dice to augment any skill roll (because you’re sodamn cool). Of course, this means that those Cool dice are gone and can’t be used toignore stress dice. You win some you lose some. You can also spend Cool dice duringthe game to remove Stress-related penalties (each Cool die you spend restores onepoint to a given skill).

One more thing: since nobody is totally Cool, you can only have a maximum of threeCool dice at a time (weird agents are the exception. They’re really cool…so they getto ignore this rule).

EXAMPLE: Cool Dice

Mitch has just seen a pair of decapitated football jocks materialize in from of him.The GM decrees that this is just too creepy and tells the player that he must roll twostress dice. He does so and scores, get this, a pair of sixes. The lowest die he rolledis a 6 so he gets a Cool die. Nice one, Mitch!

The next time the GM has Mitch make a stress roll, Mitch can ignore the lowest dieand read the next-lowest die. This means he’s less apt to go completely bonkers ifsomething bad happens. He could also spend his Cool die to augment a skill roll or torestore a penalized skill. For now, Mitch feels as cool as a cucumber.

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6. Weird AgentsYes, yes, yes. You can play a non-human or otherwise out-of-the-ordinary agent in agame of InSpectres. Here’s how:

The Good NewsFirst of all, you get ten Skill Dice to spend during character creation, but you don’tgain the benefit of a Talent. The lowest skill rating you can have is zero (meaningyou can’t use that skill without spending Bank, Cool or Card dice). The highest skillrating you can have is ten (meaning you kick ass). You don’t have to use all yourskill dice -- leftover dice are converted to Cool dice and weird agents can hold asmany Cool dice as they want! This means that weird characters are the least likelyto suffer from stress penalties and the most likely to do really cool stuff.

Second, we have to discuss cool powers. The best part about playing a weird agent isthat you can do stuff that a human InSpectres agent can only dream of doing.Exactly what those powers are is up for discussion with the GM and the otherplayers…but the system is lax enough to allow of sorts of madness. Of course, yourcharacter’s powers should fit its concept; werewolves can’t pass through walls,vampires can’t breathe fire (well, usually they can’t breathe fire).

Now, you know that you’re not gonna get away with playing a weird characterwithout some kinds of negatives, right?

The Bad NewsWeird agents don’t get to pick a Talent. Also, whenever you want to use a coolpower, you have to spend a Cool die. No, you can’t augment the use of powers withCards or Bank dice. Yes, it does add to a skill (usually either Athletics or Contact,depending on whether the power is physical or mental in nature). You can replaceCool dice the usual way (by rolling a 6 as your lowest die on a stress roll) or bychanging the team’s franchise dice into your own Cool dice (a benefit that normalagents don’t get).

The other nasty part about being undead, lycanthropic, demonic or otherwise “frombeyond” is that you don’t get paid. Why? Well, maybe you just can’t get paid(because of a lack of a social security card, birth certificate or proof of citizenship).Or you do get paid but your income is eaten up by weird expenditures (fresh suppliesof O+ and grave-dirt …or a voodoo houngan on retainer). You might even be workingfor the InSpectres as a way to pay off some metaphysical debt that’s tying you tothis world.

The end result is that when Weird agents roll 5’s or 6’s on their Skill Rolls, they don’tearn Franchise dice. Sure, they help the team finish jobs and make money…butthey’re as much a liability to the company as they are an asset.

A Random Star Trek ReferenceOh yeah…one more thing: InSpectres (as written) is about normal people. Having aweird agent on your team is like having a Vulcan aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise – it’san interesting way shed light on human qualities (did I just make a Star Trekreference? I am a geek…but you’re reading this so I guess you are too). This meansthat each InSpectres game is limited to one weird agent. This doesn’t mean thatthere can only ever be one weirdo in the company, it just means that only one weirdagent character may be played in a given game.

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Turning WeirdAlthough it’s slightly unorthodox, it’s certainly feasible to have your normal agentturn into a weird agent during the course of the game. Werewolf attacks, vampirebites, necromantic rituals (to revive fallen comrades) and other supernatural eventsare all potential hazards that your agents might face. Keeping in mind the “one weirdagent per game rule,” there’s a quick and easy way to transform your character:

Re-distribute your character’s Skill Dice (remember that as a weird agent you get tenskill Dice to play with), cross out your Talent, jot down your character’s newfoundabilities and presto, you’re good to go!

Sample Weird agentsAs is the case in this game, there are no hard and fast rules about what your weirdagent can or can’t do. A vampire in my game might be totally different than avampire in yours, and there can be many variations of what a vampire is within onegame. But here are some sample character types you can use for inspiration, as wellas possible abilities and skill ratings:

Vampire

Vampires are undead bloodsuckers. You knew this, yes? Common powers includeshapeshifting into a bat or mist (Athletics) and powers of mind control (Contact).Since vampires tend to be very old and anachronistic, they tend not to be a little outof touch in the modern technology department. The typical vampire is vulnerable tofire, sunlight and a stake through the heart.

Academics 2 (Can speak a few languages and is intrigued by occult stuff)Athletics 3 (Possesses the strength of the damned!)Technology 0 (“What’s a blender?”)Contact 3 (The power to enslave men’s minds!)Cool 2 (Tall, pale, gorgeous…and looks great in black.)

Werewolf

During a full moon, the werewolf turns into a savage beast that is half-man, half-wolf. Werewolves possess keen senses, sharp claws and bestial strength and speed.Werewolves are kept at bay with wolfsbane and can only be killed by silverweaponry. Because they are part-time monsters, they have two ratings under eachskill – the first is their normal skill, the second is for when they’re in beast-form.

Academics 2/0 (Not the scholarly type.)Athletics 2/7 (A jumping, howling ball of furry fury.)Technology 2/0 (Clawed hands make it difficult to access the Internet.)Contact 1/0 (“Grrr! Grrr!”)Cool 3 (Being able to turn into a wolfman is cool.)

Ghost

The spirits of the restless dead are the InSpectres #1 stock in trade. The company iseven named after a type of ghost (InSpectres, get it?). Normal ghosts are invisibleand incorporeal so they must spend Cool dice to affect the world of the living, butthey can float and pass through walls. Ghosts are usually tied to a specific place orobject and must resolve some aspect of their pre-death existence before passing onto their ultimate fate.

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Academics 3 (Ghosts are well-read, albeit dead.)Athletics 0 (Throw a football?)Technology 0 (No place to keep their wallet.)Contact 2 (We use telephones, they use Ouija boards…same diff.)Cool 5 (What scares a ghost? Hopefully not much.)

Zombie

Shambling husks, once human, now doomed to a mindless existence. Presumably,you’ll want your zombie character to have a bit more pep in his step. As you can see,zombies are powerhouses when it comes to staring down danger (those with eyesleft to stare, that is). We’ll just assume that your zombie co-worker prefers rawhamburger meat to human brains fresh outta the skull. Ugh.

Academics 0 (They need brains all right.)Athletics 3 (Tough, but slow.)Technology 0 (It can swing a wrench, just don’t expect it to fix your car.)Contact 0 (Zombies aren’t great conversationalists…)Cool 7 (Nothing fazes ‘em.)

Psychic

Psychics are people gifted with crazy mental powers. The ability to predict the future,to set things ablaze, to read minds. Good stuff. Psychics don’t fall into a pat category– each is quite unique. But here’s the classic “spooky chick with telepathy andnosebleeds” variety of psychic.

Academics 2 (Trivia nut but that’s of limited value more often than not.)Athletics 1 (Migraines, caffeine addiction and poor diet = low score.)Technology 2 (Average ability, has a creepy fascination with prime numbers.)Contact 5 (Can see right into your soul.)Cool 0 (Shaken, not stirred.)

Sorcerer

Rumor has it that there’s another game on the market where you play intensedemon-summoning dudes (and you can find it at www.sorcerer-rpg.com). Theseguys probably have some kind of spell for each point of Academics, a magical trinketper point of Technology and the cell-phone number of some extra-planar entity perpoint of Contact. Like psychics, these guys are all over the map. Here’s the typicaloccult scholar with a fetish for cloaks with high-collars.

Academics 5 (Even has the book-on-tape version of the Necronomicon.)Athletics 1 (Bookish sort, glasses, British accent, ghastly pallor.)Technology 1 (Practically lives in his dusty old library.)Contact 1 (Actually has a lot of friends. One is a stuffed raven…right.)Cool 2 (Can bend reality to his will.)

Demon

Hell-spawned creatures of great power, demons are the classic standby when it’s fiveminutes until game-time and you need to whip up a quickie monster. Not all demonsare bad, though. But even the good ones slip now and then, and every one has somefeature that belies their otherworldly origins. Here’s a fire-breathing lil’ dude withbatwings. An imp, I think it’s called.

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Academics 4 (Knows, and speaks, Latin – forward and backward).Athletics 1 (He’s the cutest thing…just a tiny lil’ red guy.)Technology 2 (Typical demonic abilities include knowing how to make coffee.)Contact 2 (Really persuasive.)Cool 1 (Flame on!)

Supernatural Hero

This is the generic uber-kick-ass slayer/ninja/martial artist that one guy in yourgroup is going to want to play. You know the guy who has the nunchaku and thesharpened samurai sword in his apartment? This one’s for you, big guy!

Academics 1 (Knows lots of ways to kick your ass, can’t do long division.)Athletics 4 (Can of whoop-ass? He’s a whole six-pack.)Technology 2 (Has the same sword that Wesley Snipes had in Blade, okay?)Contact 1 (Must…speak…in…halting…monotone…)Cool 2 (Black leather? Check. Scar? Check. Kung fu grip? Check.)

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7. Play StructureAll games of InSpectres start with the Starting Interview (well, the first game youplay – skip the Starting Interview for subsequent games if you want). This methodenables the players to quickly get to know one another and their respective playingstyles (if the group is new). It’s also a great way to get to know one another’scharacters and for the GM to establish the tone and mood of the game (satirical,spooky, paranoid, slapstick, etc.).

Starting InterviewsThere are three types of Starting Interview that may happen during the game.Decide what one sounds the most appealing and then go to town.

Employee Screening

This is a good choice for players have just started their franchise. The applicant couldeither be a prospective player, an established player who wants to role-play hischaracter’s job interview with the team, or an NPC controlled by the GM. TheScreening can be professional, hostile, friendly or completely surreal (depending onthe mood of the participants and the desired outcome).

Investor Meeting

This is a good way to start the game with if the players have just started and theirfranchise needs seed money or they’ve been around long enough to "get noticed" bya Venture Capitalist. Typically, the GM portrays a possible investor in the InSpectresfranchise and the players need to come up with reasons why the VC should part withhis money. Again, this can be played straight and serious or as whacked-out as youcan imagine. In one of my games, their prospective VC was a very tall, very paleman named Vladimir Rusitov who wore lots of black and would only meet with thegroup at night. You figure it out. ;)

Media Interview

The Media Interview is perfect for a group that’s either starting as a well-establishedfranchise or one that’s burst onto the scene through a hail of news reports and PR-friendly antics. The GM portrays a reporter from some kind of news agency (print,television, radio or web) and asks the players questions about the business. A craftyGM may want to insert some pointed questions in order to see how the players thinkon their feet. I’ve seen all kinds of sub-plots arise from this kind of start – romance,intrigue, paranoia…it’s great fun. Personally, I’m a big supporter of the “nosy tabloidjournalist out for a scandal” interview. In fact, there’s an online supplement forInSpectres called “Nightwatch” that deals with a supernatural TV news program.

ConfessionalsMore than skills, more than Cards, more than Cool dice, the most powerful elementof InSpectres is known as the Confessional. Ever see a reality show on TV? The“Confessional” happens when someone on the show gets some “alone time” with thecamera and speaks directly to the viewers (in a fictional show, this is called“breaking the fourth wall”). During this scene, the subject of the Confessional cantalk about the other people on the show, shed some light on current events or (dueto the magic of editing) comment on events which have already happened in thepast but you have yet to see.

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During any scene, you have the option of “stepping into the Confessional” andbreaking up the action with your character’s thoughts and feelings. It’s the only timeyour character can “speak” to the players (and not their characters) and it gives youfree rein to introduce new story elements or plot complications. You can foreshadowevents and then play them out during the game or you can talk smack aboutsomeone’s character and actually give them physical and mental traits and quirks(these are called characteristics in the game). As this is a new idea to many playersand GM’s out there, some examples are probably in order.

EXAMPLE: Confessional with Characteristics

Barry is using his Confessional to comment on how much Jo was flirting with theirlast client. He can give Jo the descriptor of "Flirtatious" and Jo can add that to hercharacter sheet. Now, even if Jo wasn't really planning to play a flirtatious character,she is now known to be a flirt and should role-play that from now on. If she does,she’ll earn an additional Franchise die at the end of the mission. If she doesn’t, wellthat’s okay…she just won’t get the extra point.

When you assign a characteristic in this way, you have the option of making thattrait positive (“Brave”), negative (“Cowardly”) or ambiguous (“Secretive”). Theplayer who is given a characteristic should write it down and incorporate it into his orher role-playing from that point on. As a form of compensation for letting anotherplayer mess with your character, you get an extra Franchise die at the end of thegame, but only if you role-play that trait (put a little check mark next to thecharacteristic when you use it). Characteristics do not need to be used from game togame. Pick and choose the ones you like to mold and shape your character. But toget that bonus die, be sure to incorporate the characteristic into that game.

EXAMPLE: Confessional with Plot Devices

Jo now takes her turn in the Confessional and says (with a big grin), “Of course, if Ihad known what would happen to us later, I would have never flirted with thatparticular guy. Thankfully, the Professor’s quick thinking helped to pull our baconfrom the fire.”

Obviously, the players have no idea what Jo is talking about. The trick is to have allthe players and the GM a) get Jo to flirt with some guy, b) to have something verybad arise from that, and c) to have the Professor come up with a solution. Here’s onemore, this time acting as a kind of “flashback” scene:

EXAMPLE: Confessional with Time Shifts

Mitch takes his Confessional right as his team is being overrun by a pack of ghouls.“Fortunately, I had a packet of hot sauce in my pocket from our lunch at the burritoplace.” The scene then resumes and Mitch’s character uses the hot sauce to blind theleader of the ghouls, giving the team a few precious seconds to get away.

Guidelines for ConfessionalsCreative players learn to incorporate plot complications, characteristics andflashbacks/foreshadowing into their Confessionals.

The only hard and fast rules for Confessionals are these:

• Address the other players as if they were watching the Confessional on television.• Confessionals should always add; never negate or detract from the game.

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• Only one player can give a Confessional per scene.• Each player can only give and receive one characteristic per game.

It may take some time to get the hang of using Confessionals. But I guarantee thatonce you “get it,” you’ll be twisting the plot into pretzels in no time flat.

“The Chair”Since first e-publishing this game, I’ve adopted a useful technique: set aside a big,comfy chair for the players when they give their Confessionals. Better yet…set up anentire area that’s reserved for Confessionals – a comfy chair for the “character” anda couch or some kind of lounging device for the GM and the others players. Thiskinda sets up an actor/audience situation that is wicked effective!

Private Lives

InSpectres agents are people too. They have friends, families and interests outsideof their rather unusual jobs. In fact, the whole point of this game is about normalpeople who have unusual jobs and still manage to wake up in the morning, drive towork (coffee and donut in hand) and punch a time-clock. Sure, they’re fightingdemons and chasing ghosts, but it’s still just a job. Take a real-life profession like“police officer.” Danger, excitement, guns, car chases and cool detective work, right?Well, that’s what you see on television but most police work involves waiting around,filling out paperwork and dealing with folks who don’t necessarily want to deal withyou. Still sound fun?

When you’re playing InSpectres, remember that all this supernatural hooey is just ajob to your character. The real meat of the game is dealing with people (clients,friends and family) who see your character’s profession as being dangerous, exciting,gross or unusual. What happens when your character comes home dripping withdemonic ichor? How will your character handle a jealous girlfriend when he calmlyexplains that he was just chatting up that gorgeous Goth vampire chick to “getinformation” about a case? These interpersonal relationships (and how they conflictwith “the job”) can provide for some awesome role-playing…make sure you don’tlose sight of these kinds of stories.

The GM may occasionally throw a personal crisis at one or more of the players(Stress Rolls might even be called for). Usually, the Contact skill is used to handlethese situations. Cool dice may be used to augment Contact rolls, but because it’snot official InSpectres business, no Bank dice or Card dice may be used…and nofranchise dice are gained during these encounters. Make sure that it’s clear to theplayers when a given skill roll won’t net them any franchise dice.

Creating Non-player CharactersOne of the strangest things about this game is that only the characters actually haveattributes. Non-player Characters (NPCs, the dudes created and controlled by theGM) don’t have skills or Cool or Card dice or anything like that. An NPC or a monstermight a have stress rating, but this number can fluctuate during the game dependingon circumstances (meeting Joe the Vampire might not be stressful at all, until hegoes crazy and tries to sink his fangs into you).

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JobsMost InSpectres games revolve around a basic play structure: the Job. You’ve allseen this before on TV (especially on cop/law/medical shows), a tried-and-truesequence of events that happen in a pre-defined order. This kind of familiar structuremight seem like anathema (look it up) to the typical role-playing gamer who thriveson rich, unique games that are full of surprises.

Well, InSpectres is rich, unique and full of surprises. How is this possible? Becausealthough the sequence of events is scripted, the circumstances of those events iswildly improvisational. So let’s break it down:

Getting the Call (contact client and learn about the upcoming job) Research/Investigation (research the problem and/or investigate the location andcome up with a possible, plausible explanation)Suiting Up (procure the necessary equipment to deal with the problem)Fieldwork (travel to the scene and deal with the problem) Cleaning Up (transfer franchise dice to Cards or to the Bank) Vacation (spend dice to remove your agent’s stress penalties)

Occasionally, agents go back and forth between Research/Investigation andFieldwork. Humorous or character-defining interludes could also take place atanytime (this includes Confessionals or any other non-work-related incidents).

Remember that although the game sessions focus on the InSpectres’ jobs, youshould never neglect an opportunity to contrast that job and “real life.” What doghost hunters do to relax? What are their home-lives like? This is where the funny is.

Getting the Call

“The Call” usually consists of a client contacting the team, either in person orthrough a phone call or email (sure, why not?). This is the event that kicks the gameinto high gear. In most cases, the client sets up a meeting with one or more of theagents. Most often this is at the InSpectres' headquarters but a client who wishes toavoid public scrutiny (because of their position or fame) may decide to hold theinterview in their home, in a restaurant or in an abandoned graveyard at the strokeof midnight.

The classic “Getting the Call” moment occurs in the film Ghostbusters, when Dana(Sigourney Weaver) has that little problem with her refrigerator and calls the boys-in-gray to take a look-see. After Dana met with the Ghostbusters at their converted-fire station offices, Dr. Venkman (Bill Murray) checked out her apartment, askedsome questions and proceeded to hit on her. Great scene.

When the InSpectres agents get the call, the GM should decide how tough the job isgoing to be. This means that the GM should come up with a maximum number offranchise dice needed for the mission. When the players acquire this number, themission is successfully completed. For an easy mission, ten Franchise dice are allthat’s needed. A tougher job warrants around twenty dice and a truly difficultmission requires thirty or more dice. As a general rule, I go with double the numberof franchise dice the group starts out with. Seems to work okay.

You may also have the InSpectres stumble across some weird happenings duringtheir training or their days off (or even worse, when they’re all on Vacation!). This

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can be a cool way of kicking off a story but don't overdo it -- remember, altruism isnoble, but it doesn't pay the rent!

Client Roll ChartInSpectres is built to run at the drop of a hat. Simple rules, a very “sticky” premiseand lots of opportunities for the players to direct the flow of the game. In keepingwith these design elements, here is a quick and dirty way to generate random,unique and memorable clients to get the ball rolling.

Roll two six-sided dice for each field (Personality, Client, Occurrence and Location)and consult the following chart to randomly generate bizarre clients and jobdescriptions:

Roll Personality Client Occurrence Location2 Horny Ghost/Monster Transformation Underground (sewers or subway)3 Bored Police Officer Appearance In the water4 Skeptical Student Bizarre phenomena Some remote area5 Angry City Worker Abnormal weather A restaurant6 Impatient Storekeeper Odd Smell A municipal building7 Weird Housewife Weird Sound an apartment building8 Frantic Gov’t Official Strange Light At a store or office9 Terrified Businessman Haunting In a residential area10 Calm Hospital Worker Destruction At a public park or zoo11 Enthusiastic Motorist Infestation In a sketchy neighborhood12 Blasé Aristocrat Abduction Somewhere in a parallel dimension

Of course, if you don’t like the result, feel free to roll again, pick another choice oradd your own selection.

Now, don’t forget that this is only the initial problem. The players and their Skill Rollsinfluence the real source of the problem, which could turn out to be somethingcompletely different than what you had in mind at first. The farmer might say thataliens are draining the blood from his cattle but it could turn out to be just a bunchof bored vampires stuck out in the sticks.

Also, remember that clients are not trained professionals. They’re not necessarilyhonest or forthcoming with information either. Some might try to scam the team outof paying the bill. Others might be hiding some embarrassing family secret (“Ms.Jones, it says here that the cause of death was auto-erotic, errr…well, it doesn’t looklike your husband fell in the shower, Ma’am.”) or just plain uninformed.

After all, John and Jane Q. Public wouldn’t know the difference between a Shoggothand Shub-Niggurath, if you get my drift.

Research & InvestigationThis is a very important phase and a great time to start hitting those books andusing your Academics and Contact skills. Talk to the client, interview witnesses,search public records, collect data and for god's sake -- take notes!

This is also where InSpectres (the game) gets a little kooky.

The GM might have an idea of what’s happening, but that doesn’t necessarily meanthat he or she knows for certain what’s going on. Through a combination of GM-player interaction, role-playing, problem solving and quick wits, you can determinewhat the problem is that you're all facing. Then roll the appropriate dice (usually

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Academics or Contact, sometimes Technology if you're using your expensive toys todo the work for you) and that determines whether you're "right" or not. In order words, the GM’s job is NOT to feed clues to the players and string themalong until they arrive at the correct solution to the problem. In this game the GMgives the players the raw material they’ll need to decide what the problem is in thefirst place.

Are they right? Are they wrong? Have them roll the appropriate skills and tailor thegame around them. If your initial plan is to have that haunted house filled withdemons and the players decide (after some killer Academics rolls) that the house ISa demon, then CHANGE YOUR IDEA. This is a game where the players determinehow the story progresses. The GM is there to keep the pace, just like the bass playerin the band (to paraphrase a friend of mine, the same one with the game aboutsummoning demons).

Suiting Up

The “Suiting Up” stage is when you and the rest of the team get to load up all theneat toys you’ve purchased on the company credit card. Lots of Technology rolls netsome crazy results – from hi-tech items from the bleeding edge of science tohomemade weapons made from baling wire, spit and tinfoil.

If your equipment has already been covered during franchise creation, who’s to saythat it’s available for use at the moment? Roll again…maybe you’ll hose yourself andbe out of ammo for that grenade launcher. Or maybe you found some extra cash toupgrade your armory and you acquired some antique silver dueling pistols.

Oh, and if you haven’t already done so, roll to see what your transportation situationis like. Nothing is funnier than a bunch of vampire slayers taking the bus.

FieldworkThis is where the magic happens…the climax of the game. Lots of Athletics andTechnology rolls, lots of action, blood n’ gore, suspense, and a multitude of Stressrolls and Confessionals to liven things up.

The Fieldwork stage is where you face the source of the problem (or possibly onesource of the problem) and deal with it. This could mean anything from using thatjury-rigged ghost trap on a pesky poltergeist to shoving a foot-long stake throughthe heart of some fanged menace. Of course, an imaginative group of players couldfind themselves anywhere, at anytime, doing almost anything. The key is to enjoythe experience and have a good laugh as well as a good scare.

Clean UpThe final part of any job is the best part: getting paid. The stage where you get tofeed dice back into the franchise’s Cards or Bank account and work off that nasty,nasty stress with a relaxing Vacation.

To finish the mission, the players need to acquire a certain number of franchise dice.Once this number is reached, they may finish the job and get paid. If the characterscontinue to make skill rolls, they cannot gain more franchise dice. But if they’rehaving fun, well let ‘em go nuts.

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If the players want, they can end a mission prematurely, that is, without resolvingthe problem or gaining the requisite number of franchise dice. Ending a mission insuch a manner nets the team half the dice they’ve gained up to that point.

Remember that at the end of the mission, all Franchise Dice should be placed intoone of the following areas.

• Cards (to augment Academics, Athletics or Technology skill rolls)• Bank (to augment skill rolls)• Vacation (to restore skills that were reduced due to stress)• Cool dice (for weird agents)

Unplaced Franchise Dice cannot be used until the end of the next mission. Until then,they’re just sitting around (on the plus side, this gives the team a little padding fortheir next goal).

Bankruptcy & DebtSo what happens if your franchise runs out of dice? Well, dice = money. And if youcan’t pay the bills, your franchise is going to have to close its doors. It’s hard enoughto finish missions in one piece, it’s harder still to finish them without the benefit oftraining and resources. But all is not lost. If your team ever runs out of franchise dice(either during the mission or at the start or end of a mission), you can go into debt.Here’s how:

First of all, you no longer have access to your Cards (consider them collateral for thebusiness loan). Secondly, you may place up to ten dice into the Bank. Set yourfranchise’s total number of dice to zero, minus the amount of dice now on loan (soyou’ll have anywhere from –1 to –10 franchise dice). Beware! Having lots of Bankdice to play with is a lot of fun because you can use them for any skill roll…butthere’s always the chance of wiping out your savings with one unlucky roll of thedice.

At the end of the mission, you must first “pay back” a number of dice equal to theloan +1 (this extra die is lost and not put back into the franchise). If your franchisedice total is a positive number, no problem…you’re good to go. The Cards are backunder your control, your creditors are happy and life is good.

If it’s zero, you’ll need to take out another loan. The Cards stay in hock. Yourcreditors will give you the evil eye. Small children will cry out when you draw near.

If it remains in a negative state, you’re out of business. Does this mean you have tostop playing? No, of course not. But it does mean that your current InSpectresfranchise has gone kaput and the team will need to start over again. In terms of thegame, not only will your franchise will lose all the equipment it has gained over thecourse of play, its agents will lose any and all Cool dice they’ve acquired thus far.

Death & Dismemberment

InSpectres is supposed to be a horror-comedy game, with both funny and scarysituations occurring in equal proportions. In most cases, this is “Ghostbusters-level”intensity – shocks and scares but no really harsh stuff. But if you and your groupwant to up the ante a little bit, you can lower the comedy and raise the horror by asmuch as you want. In game terms, this means tougher missions, more frequent

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stress rolls and more severe stress penalties. And because the players have controlin InSpectres games, you shouldn’t be afraid to maim, mutilate and even kill yourown character.I know what you’re thinking. Did I hear him right? Kill my own character?

Yup. Think of it this way: you won’t be penalized for losing your character becauseyour character never gets better – so it’s not like you’ve spent the last two monthsgetting him to 4th level and next thing you know, he’s dead from a stupid poisonneedle trap. The only attribute that will increase in this game is your Cool, andthat’s not even guaranteed to stay the same over the course of a mission.

The franchise remains…The team still gets paid...…It’s just one less person for “Happy Hour” down at the local pub.

If your InSpectres team is ready for this kind of job then let the GM know that you’reinvoking the “Death & Dismemberment” clause. Consider hazard pay to be a bonusof one franchise die per agent at the end of such a mission (this means that atwenty-die mission for four agents would net the team twenty-four dice if themission was completed successfully). Weird agents, alas, don’t get such a benefit(most of them are already dead).

Vacation

This stage is meant to be short and sweet. You can end the game right afterVacation or you can continue right into another job. An interesting game could arisefrom something that happens during your Vacation (a great excuse to set yourInSpectres game in Hawaii…like an episode of Magnum PI).

If you’re suffering from a stress-related penalty, you can now get back some or all ofyour skill dice by removing dice from the Bank or by spending the franchise dice youearned at the end of the mission. One die restores one point to a skill.

If you’re still stressed and you have no Bank dice to spend, you must spend yourown Cool dice. If you have nothing left, you’re screwed for the time being and yourStress penalties stick around for the next game session. Just breathe deep and startchewing those antacids…

Weird agents can take Vacations, too. The same rules apply except that Weirdagents can also spend franchise dice or Bank dice to replenish their Cool dice (avampire that takes long Vacations is going to be a drain on your finances…punintended).

Character ContinuityMost of the time, Vacations exist in a kind of “no time” zone where your characterwon’t have to be out of play while he or she is recovering. However, if you’re goingfor realism or if your group is playing an InSpectres series (where you play manygames with continuing characters and sub-plots), you can schedule your characters’Vacation times around their dice penalties. It’ll work like this:

Your agent lost … Your agent is out of work for…1 skill die One day (“He went home early.”)2-3 skill dice Three days (“He took a long weekend.”)

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4-5 skill dice Two weeks (“He’s in Maui.”)6+ skill dice One month plus a week for every die above 6 (“He’s on life support.“)

In a game like this, each player can maintain a kind of “character portfolio”containing a variety of agents to play when one is out of commission. The cool thingis that these other guys are considered to be “on assignment” when not in-play. Youdon’t get earn any extra Franchise dice or anything, but you can use them as NPCsor (even better) as additional agents in your franchise. That means you can pull thefile of a specialized agent when a certain kind of job is called for (“Vampire Goats?Put Johnson on that one…didn’t he grow up on a farm?”). It also gives each playerthe opportunity to have a weird agent in their portfolio without breaking the “oneweirdo per game” rule.

EXAMPLE: After the MissionThe fourteen franchise dice needed to finish the mission have been earned…it’s MillerTime! Time to wrap up loose ends, solve the mystery and get the characters back tohome base for some R&R. Those fourteen dice (plus bonus dice from hazard pay orfrom role-playing characteristics gained during the job) are then channeled back intothe Cards or the Bank. The agents in need of Vacation (like the Professor) can spendfranchise dice to restore their skills back to their original ratings.

If for some reason, the players “solved’ the mission after earning only ten franchisedice, they would suffer the penalty and lose half those dice (whether the penalty isfor shoddy work, back taxes, license renewal or insurance payments is unimportantexcept maybe as color). So in the end, a premature finish would only net the team apaltry five franchise dice…barely enough to keep them in Instant Ramen for the restof the month.

InSpectres: the SeriesAfter you play your first game of InSpectres, I can almost guarantee that you’ll wantto play again. And because the game encourages player-driven stories and requiresalmost no prep time, it’s not all that hard to switch off GM duties (seriously, youdon’t even need a GM to play this game…it just about runs itself). Your team isestablished, your offices are set up and all have your first (and hopefully successful)job under your belt.

I say keep it going! Think of the game not as some epic adventure, but as atelevision series. The agents are the stars…the guys that get their names and facesshown during the opening credits. Then you have your secondary characters, gueststars and extras. You can run individual sessions like one-shot “a day in the life of”stories (like COPS), episodes in a long-running story arc (like Buffy the VampireSlayer). You can even combine the two; a story arc spanning a bunch of sessions,punctuated with one-shot adventures (that may or may not have anything at all todo with the main story). The first episode is where you introduce the characters andtheir franchise. You might even run a game (either in the beginning or later on as aflashback episode) that happens before the business is created (the library scene inGhostbusters introduces some of the characters and has them go on a missionbefore their spook-hunting enterprise is even mentioned!). If additional players join,start the game off with an Employee Screening and interview them for the job.Someone moving away? Kill off their character in that shocking season finale. Theworld is your oyster, baby.

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8. Final WordsIf you’re used to the regular way of GMing, this game is going to feel like a bucket ofcold water in your face at five o’clock in the morning - shocking, but hopefullyrefreshing. Prep time is minimal, yes. But you’ll need to be fast on your feet andwilling to change your pre-conceptions about the game at the drop of a hat. You’llalso need to get your players involved in running the game, a job you normally keepall to yourself.

Running the GameIf your players are reticent about taking control, you’ll have to prompt, prod andpush them in the right direction. Ask lots of questions. If they ask you if there is afire extinguisher on the wall, ask them “Well, is there?” You’ll probably use thephrase, “Okay, now what to you do?” a lot until they get the hang of things.

Allow them the freedom to make up the results of a bad die roll. If they refuse toplay in the spirit of the game, hose them. Hose them in a BIG way. Likewise, if theyroll 6’s and act wishy-washy, then give them a pretty good result and hint that ifthey would run with the descriptions, their characters’ effectiveness would increasedramatically (again, pun intended…get it?).

Try and get across the feeling that although the action is unfolding in a linear fashion(like a story), the act of creating that story is non-linear. Not only does this meanyou can muck with the timeline of the game (by using Confessionals, for example),the game can be run with the knowledge that everything has already happened inthe past and only now is are the events being shown. In other words, playing thegame is like creating a documentary of “a day in the life of the InSpectres” and thestory that unfolds is akin to someone watching that film footage.

Oh, and I can almost guarantee that once one player tries out a Confessional, theother players will want to mix it up as well. Encourage them! And hey, you. Be sureto sit back and get into the game as much as your players. As an InSpectres GM,you’re obviously a person of rare and refined sensibilities. Enjoy yourself…this isn’tbrain surgery!

Have FunSo there you have it, a complete role-playing game…and one without lists ofmonsters, complex combat rules, pre-made adventures or crappy fiction. Why?Because hopefully, the rules to this game have given you the tools necessary tocome up with even better stuff than I could write. And whereas many RPGs aresimply warmed-up leftovers from someone else’s campaign, InSpectres is more likea cooking class. The intent is to give you the ingredients and techniques required forcreating your own tasty masterpieces.

Oh, you can forget that old adage about “too many chefs spoiling the soup.” What’swrong with the players and the GM working together? And what’s with this age-oldtradition of “hiding behind the screen?” I say, “Share the power…share the wealth!”

And dammit, have a good time.

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Credits & KudosDesigned and written by Jared A. SorensenInSpectres character and franchise sheets designed and created by Ben Morgan

Playtesters and AdvisorsZak Arntson, Mario Bonassin, Paul Czege, Ron Edwards, Michael Gentry, StephenGrady, Mike Holmes, Tim Kirk, “Graveyard” Greg McNutt, Jürgen Mayer, Joshua Neff,Nathan Hill, Clinton R. Nixon and Sean Wipfli.

The Essential InSpectres InSpirado ListLet’s face it here. Genre-wise, I’m not treading in strange new waters – TV shows,comics and games about ghost hunters and paranormal investigators are a dime adozen. Despite this, I think InSpectres has some cool stuff in it that makes it unique.

Anyway, here’s the good stuff…stuff you should definitely check out to get into thatInSpectres state of mind.

• Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters II and The Real Ghostbusters (animated series)• Men in Black (the movie) and Men in Black: the series (animated series)• Startup.com (documentary about a failed Internet company)• The Real World, Survivor and COPS (reality TV shows)• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and also Angel, because “Angel Investigations” is a

classic example of what a “covert” InSpectres team might be like)• Hellboy (a comic book by Mike Mignola featuring the greatest weird agent ever!)• Demon Cops (a Sorcerer supplement by Ron Edwards, the author of Sorcerer)

Mini- SupplementsIn-Speckers by Tim Boser and UnSpeakable (by me) are both available at theInSpectres website. Look for the following mini-supplements in the near future:

Nightwatch by Scott KnipeWard 13 by Scott KnipeGeek Season by Mike Holmes and Sean WipfliGhost Company by Daniel PondDescent into the Underneath by Ian YoungSuperFiends by Zak Arntson

Got an idea for your own mini-supplement? Visit the InSpectres site for details. Copyright InfoCopyright 2002 Memento Mori / Jared A. Sorensen. All Rights Reserved.

This electronic publication may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including thecover image, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 ofthe US Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without writtenpermission from the publisher. In other words, ask first.

Memento Mori: Indie Game Design from Beyond the Grave!

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i. Glossary of TermsThe following information has been provided as a super-condensed version of the fullrules. Not only is it appropriate as a reference tool for the GM, it’s also a good way tointroduce the concepts of the game to new players. Just print out the followingsections and hand ‘em out at the beginning of your first session of InSpectres.

SkillsThere are four skills in InSpectres. Each represents a very broad, abstract field ofknowledge or ability. One (Technology) is even an abstraction of resources andbuying power. The level of any skill is defined with skill dice (the typical InSpectresagent has nine skill dice spread out among the four skills).

Academics

The Academics skill is used most often in the game when an InSpectres agent isresearching information. It can also be used to describe an agent’s intellect, memoryand level of education.

Athletics

The Athletics skill is an indicator of an agent’s physical prowess, strength, hand-eyecoordination and physical fitness. Actions that are physical in nature (running, lifting,jumping, etc.) use this skill. Athletics is also the skill that governs brawling, martialarts knowledge, marksmanship and driving ability.

Contact

Contact is a catchall skill that is mainly used when the agents are attempting tocommunicate with the general public, clients, investors, the media and theauthorities. Contact can also be used to dig up rumors or gossip about people.

Technology

Technology pertains to computers, electronics, machines and other types ofequipment. It appears to overlap with Athletics when it comes to the use of weaponsand vehicles but Athletics deals more with marksmanship and coordination andTechnology deals with hi-tech gadgetry that relies on computer targeting systemsand the like. The Technology skill is also used whenever the player is trying to build,scrounge, or purchase a piece of equipment. InSpectres uses a Requirement rulewhere players must roll a certain number or higher on their Technology skill rolls,depending on the rarity and cost of the item in question.

Die PoolsInSpectres contains a metric butt-load of die pools. To help you keep them clear,here is a list of all the die pools used in the game, with descriptions of how each isused.

Bank diceBank dice are franchise dice that are squirreled away in some kind of 401(k), MutualFund, stock portfolio-kinda thing. They’re handy because you can spend them toalleviate stress penalties (during Vacations), augment any skill roll or (for weirdagents) turn them into Cool dice.

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Bank dice are tricky because whenever you use one (either on a skill roll or for someother reason), you have a chance of losing more dice than you actually spent. On theplus side, it is possible to gain “interest” on Bank dice.

Card Dice

Card Dice are just franchise dice that have been spent on any of the threeInSpectres Cards (Gym Membership Card, Library Use Card and Credit Card). Thedisadvantage of Card dice is that they are linked to skills. For instance, you cannotaugment an Athletics skill roll with Credit Card dice. The advantage of Card dice isthat unlike Bank dice, you only lose what you use.

Cool diceCool dice allow you to ignore some or all of your stress. For each Cool die you have,you may ignore the lowest-rolled stress die. You can also spend your Cool dice toaugment a skill roll. Weird agents may also spend their Cool dice to activate theirweird abilities.

Cool dice are usually gained during play when a low 6 is rolled during a Stress Roll.Normal agents may have a maximum of three Cool dice at any one time. Weirdagents have no such limitation.

When dealing with situations outside of your character’s job with InSpectres, you canonly use Cool dice to augment rolls. Unless you want to be indicted on embezzlementcharges…

Franchise DiceFranchise dice are distributed between the InSpectres team’s three Cards (the GymMembership, Library Use and Credit Cards). The number of franchise dice the teamreceives depends on how long that team has been around, their financial situationand the desires of the players and the GM. A brand-new InSpectres team receivesbetween five and ten franchise dice. More established groups may have betweenfifteen and twenty dice. The crème de la crème will have around thirty Franchisedice.

Franchise dice are also what you collect during a job. The number of franchise diceneeded to finish the job is set at the beginning of the game by the GM. Whenever amember or your team rolls a high 5 or a high 6, your team gets either one or twofranchise dice. When the required number of franchise dice is reached, you can endthe mission and collect those dice as payment.

When setting the number of Franchise dice needed to finish a mission, the GM shouldtake the team’s current number of franchise dice into account. A good rule of thumbis to require twice the number of Franchise dice with which the team starts thegame. In general, the more franchise dice you have, the tougher your jobs will be.Not only in terms of the number of franchise dice you’ll need to finish the mission,but also in terms of plot complications and stress rolls.

Skill Dice

Every normal character has nine skill dice to distribute during character creation.Weird agents get ten skill dice. The dice are rolled when your character uses his orher Academics, Athletics, Technology or Contact skills. The highest skill die rolled isused to determine the result of the roll.

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Stress DiceStress dice (between one and five) are rolled when a character faces injury, terror orirritation. The lowest stress die rolled is used to determine the result of the roll.

Talent Dice

All normal, human agents gain a bonus die (called a Talent die) when performingskill rolls within their selected Talent. This Talent die is never lost, not even when theagent suffers stress.

Game MechanicsAlthough InSpectres is not a complex game, it does possess a few wrinkles to spicethings up.

AugmentingWhen you Augment a skill roll, it means that you are subtracting dice from a die pooland adding those dice to your skill roll.

Bank Rolls

Whenever a Bank die is used to augment a skill roll, that die serves two functions.The first is to increase the likelihood of rolling a high die. The second is to determinewhat happens to the team’s Bank as a result of that die being used. Sometimes, thedie will be lost. Other times, it will remain in the Bank. If a 6 is rolled, the Bank die iskept in the Bank and an additional Bank die is added to the Bank. If a low number isrolled, multiple Bank dice might be lost.

If a player ever spend Bank dice during Vacation (to restore skills that have sufferedfrom stress penalties), the dice are rolled and the results are used to determine whatBank dice are kept, lost or gained.

Requirements

Requirements are used to prevent players from getting every piece of equipmentthey can dream up. If the item in question is common and/or inexpensive, aminimum of one 4 must be rolled. If the item is more expensive or harder to find, a5 is needed. If the desired item is very rare or prohibitively expensive, a 6 isrequired. Players may reduce a Requirement by reducing the safety, effectiveness orreliability of the item in question.

Skill Rolls

A skill roll is when the player rolls a number of dice equal to one of his or hercharacter’s skills. The highest number showing on the dice is used to determine theresult (1, 2, and 3 being bad results, 4, 5, and 6 being good results). Skill rolls arenot just for basic task resolution. Because they govern how much control the playerscan exert over the game, they can be called for in a variety of situations: attacking acreature, researching information, building a gadget, romancing a client, repairing avehicle, talking to an insurance agency or buying a rare book.

Stress PenaltiesStress penalties arise from rolling below a 5 on a Stress Roll. These penaltiestemporarily reduce a character’s skills by anything from one to five skill dice.Spending Cool dice during play or Bank dice at the end of a mission is the only wayto negate lasting stress penalties.

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Stress RollsWhenever a character faces some kind of stress (either physical or mental), thatcharacter’s player must roll a number of stress dice (determined by the GM, usuallybetween one and five dice). The lowest die is used to determine the result (onestress die may be ignored per Cool die possessed by the character).

“Taking 4”

Any character with a skill rating of four may elect to take an automatic “4” instead ofrolling dice when using that skill. Characters with skills of zero due to stress penaltiesmay not Take 4. Characters may not Take 4 when making stress rolls or Bank rolls.Taking 4 is a sensible tactic when stress penalties have brought your Skill’s ratingbelow a three.

TeamworkTeamwork is a special tactic where members of the team help one another out bysharing dice from a skill roll. If you want to help out another player (and yourcharacter is attempting to help that player’s character), you may make a skill rolland give one of your results to that player. Once the desire to help another playerhas been announced, you must hand over one die from your skill roll, even if thatleaves you with a less-than-desired result. If using teamwork to assist anothercharacter, you won’t earn extra franchise dice if you roll a 5 or a 6.

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Play StructurePlay Structure is a term I use for how the game is actually played. Many role-playinggames don’t have a clear Play Structure. Those that do often use the setup-conflict-climax-resolution sequence that’s common to dramatic writing. Because InSpectresis more about what happens during the game than about what happens at the end,the Play Structure is concerned with clearly marking out how the game should beplayed. That way, everyone is moving in the same direction and emphasis can beplaced on the moment, rather than trying to cajole the story into a cohesivenarrative.

Confessionals

Confessionals are opportunities for players to temporarily suspend the game andhave their characters speak directly to the other players. During a Confessional, theplayer gets a few minutes to comment on the game thus far, or to jump backward orforward in time to introduce new plot elements, complications or solutions. The termand the technique stem from “Reality Shows” where one of the participants issequestered in a private location with a camera and shares his or her thoughts onwhat has transpired in the past (and to speculate on what may happen in thefuture).

The “rules” for Confessionals are as follows:

• Address the other players as if they were watching the Confessional on television.• Confessionals should always add; never negate or detract from the game.• Only one player can give a Confessional per scene.• Each player can only give and receive one characteristic per game.

Characteristics

Characteristics are personality traits given to characters during a Confessional.Although they don’t have to be incorporated into the personality of the character,there is an incentive for doing so (in the form of a bonus of one franchise die at theend of the game session). Characteristics are fairly fluid and are likely to changefrom one game to the next. Of course, there’s no reason why the same characteristiccan’t be used for the same character each session.

The JobThe Job refers to an actual problem that the InSpectres are hired to investigate andsolve. This happens in several distinct phases:

Getting the Call (contact client and learn about the upcoming job) Research/Investigation (research the problem and/or investigate the location andcome up with a possible, plausible explanation)Suiting Up (procure the necessary equipment to deal with the problem)Fieldwork (travel to the scene and deal with the problem) Clean Up (transfer franchise dice to Cards or to the Bank)Vacation (spend dice to remove your agent’s stress penalties)

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ii. Reference ChartsThe following charts are used throughout InSpectres and are repeated here for yourconvenient reference.

Skill Roll Chart6: Amazing! Describe the result and gain 2 Franchise dice.5: Good. Describe the result and gain a Franchise die.4: Fair. Describe the mostly positive result of your action but you must include negative or humorouseffect.3: Not Great. The GM decides your fate but you may be given a chance to suggest a single positive (albeitminor) effect.2: Bad. The GM decides your fate or you may suggest something suitably negative.1: Terrible! The GM gets to hose you with a truly dire situation resulting from your incompetence.

Stress Roll Chart6: Too Cool for School. You gain a point of Cool and suffer no real Stress.5: Blasé. No effects…you just don’t care.4: Annoyed. Suffer a 1-die penalty to your next skill roll (no matter where or when you perform it).3: Stressed. Lose a die from an appropriate skill.2: Frazzled. Lose two dice from an appropriate skill (or one die from two skills).1: Complete and total nuclear meltdown. Lose your Cool (if you have any) and lose a number of skill diceequal to the number of Stress dice rolled.

Bank dice Chart6: Compounded Interest! Return this die and add a bonus die to the Bank.5: Interest! Return this die to the Bank.4: Account Withdrawal! No Benefit or Penalty! Lose this die.3: Account Withdrawal! No Benefit or Penalty! Lose this die.2: Service Charge! Lose this die and an additional Bank die, if possible.1: Account Overrun! Ignore all other results and lose all Bank dice.

Client Roll ChartRoll 2 six-sided dice or choose whatever seems most interesting.

Roll Personality Client Occurrence Location2 Horny Ghost/Monster Transformation Underground (sewers or subway)3 Bored Police Officer Appearance In the water4 Skeptical Student Bizarre phenomena Some remote area5 Angry City Worker Abnormal weather A restaurant6 Impatient Storekeeper Odd Smell A municipal building7 Weird Housewife Weird Sound an apartment building8 Frantic Gov’t Official Strange Light At a store or office9 Terrified Businessman Haunting In a residential area10 Calm Hospital Worker Destruction At a public park or zoo11 Enthusiastic Motorist Infestation In a sketchy neighborhood12 Blasé Aristocrat Abduction Somewhere in a parallel dimension